Street Style Trends, the Scandi Way, from 2016 to Today

Copenhagen Fashion Week is celebrating its 20th anniversary next week, and to commemorate those two decades of Scandi cool girl style, we here at Vogue are taking a look back not just at its impact on the runways, but on the streets.

Not only has the country given rise to some of the Internet’s most-followed influencers—as our resident CPHFW expert Laird Borrelli-Persson recently highlighted—but they’ve consistently been on top of fashion’s most talked-about trends—that is, when they’re not starting them (think: Butter yellow, a shade they embraced a full four years before the rest of the fashion world caught on).

From flowy dresses and fringe bangs to puff-sleeve dresses and glorious gingham, the Scandi set has paved the way for the biggest street style trends in recent memory. Here, we take a look back at their effortlessly elegant and undeniably cool contributions to the broader street style canon, from 2016 to today. Nyde!

A decade ago, our beloved street stylers made a very convincing case for easy, flowy dresses and perfectly fringed bangs. Sometimes less is, indeed, more.

In 2017, our Scandi cohort couldn’t get enough of leather—skirts, pants, boots, coats, you name it. It’s easy to see why.

From faded azure to inky indigo, this was the year that Stockholm Fashion Week attendees embraced the everyday allure of the straight-leg jean.

Years before the rest of fashion set went gaga over the sunny, optimistic charm of the butter yellow trend, Emili Sindlev and the rest of Copenhagen’s best-dressed were already indulging the cheerful hue.

Dorothy, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. And the Scandi street stylers showed exactly how and why a gingham dress looks just as good in Copenhagen as it does in Kansas (or, for that matter, Oz).

A year into COVID, these enterprising street stylers proved that even a mask and gloves can be chic accessories when worn with the right outfit.

We will always remember this as the year that the Ganni sweater vest took over Copenhagen Fashion Week.

It was back-to-back banner years for the popular Danish Ganni, when its popular cowboy boot was adopted en masse by the street style set, including social media savant Emma Chamberlain.

Floral brooches were a must-have this year, proving that Scandi street style stars were feeling rosy (and look at the world with rose-colored glasses, natch).

R.I.P. to the beloved brand Saks Potts—but may their preppy-sporty-cool rugby shirt live on forever in street style.

Danes paid homage to Cecilie Bahnsen—who hosted her tenth anniversary in Copenhagen—by showing up and showing out in her frilly, feminine puff-sleeve dresses. Vidunderlig!